Italy deploys sniffer dogs to search for survivors in bridge collapse
Italian rescuers say there is still hope of finding survivors under a collapsed highway bridge on August 14.
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Cranes move concrete blocks at the site of the bridge collapse on August 16. Photo:Reuters. |
"We are looking for a place to drill into the rubble. Then cranes and digging equipment will be deployed to create a path for the dogs,"Reutersquoted Stefano Zanut, a firefighter searching for victims of the collapse of the Morandi highway bridge in the northwestern Italian city of Genoa, said today.
Rescuers hope that large concrete blocks may have leaned against each other, creating gaps for survivors to take shelter in. Twenty people are still missing, while firefighters have not yet reached all the cars in the rubble.
The rescue operation was called off this morning due to a fire that broke out near the site of the collapse. It is believed that sparks from a metal cutter fell onto a warehouse below the bridge, setting it ablaze.
A 200-meter section of the Morandi highway bridge collapsed on August 14, killing at least 39 people and injuring 15. Hundreds of Genoans living in buildings near the Morandi bridge spent the night in gyms and shelters, after authorities warned their homes could collapse at any moment.
